For more than 20 years Jim Lindberg has been a driving force in the Southern California punk rock scene. After two decades with his long-running Hermosa Beach-based band Pennywise, Lindberg was forced to make an important decision: Continue to do long stints on tour or step back and become the father he had to be to his three young daughters.

In 2007, Lindberg wrote his first book, “Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life.” The release explored the dichotomy of raising a family while fronting an anti-establishment punk rock band. Lindberg says that there were offers to do a reality TV show based on his hectic lifestyle of trying to balance life on the road with his life at home, but he says his family declined, not wanting that sort of exposure. Instead, Lindberg became a part of director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins’ new documentary project, “The Other F Word.”

“It was a long process,” Lindberg said of making the documentary, which caught up with him during the last of his outings with Pennywise around 2008-’09. He also suggested most of the other dads that appear in the film to Nevins.

“I knew there were other dads in the scene that had a unique story,” he says during a recent phone interview. “I think that the filmmakers did a great job of pulling the stories out of these guys because there’s some really heart-wrenching stories that are told in this film. It’s pretty heavy and I think the guys opened up to Andrea, maybe in a way they might not have with a tough-guy film maker. She’s a mother herself and she got them to talk about very sensitive issues about their upbringing and what having a kid was like for them and I think that’s why it’s such an effecting film.”

“There are a lot of punk rock documentaries that talk about how radical it all was, but this film finds the heart that’s beating underneath the punk rock, tough guy exterior.”

Lindberg admits that he was very unhappy during the period of time in which the documentary was filmed.

“I realized that the end was coming soon for my involvement in Pennywise,” he says. “I definitely felt a duty to go out and play almost two years worth of shows because we had put out an album and I wanted to live up to my commitments to the fans and the band. The main thing that everyone has to know is that I really cared so much about our band and our fans and the message that we put out there. I didn’t want to get into a situation where I was doing it because it was a job – I wanted to be there because I wanted to be there and yes, I did want to be there. When I was on stage, it was great, but there were times when I was needed at home and I couldn’t be there because of my commitments with the band. It was a very complicated situation and there were a lot of unspoken things happening while the documentary was going on – let’s just put it that way.”

Now that he’s seen the finished product, Lindberg says he looked at himself on screen and just wanted to give that version of himself “a bowl of soup and have him take a nap – that guy looks so tired.” He’s happy with the documentary overall and says that he hopes that after seeing the film, people walk away with a new understanding of the punk rock lifestyle.

“I really think a lot of people who might have looked at punk rockers as scary, tattooed guys who are out of control will see them as genuine, caring parents and that hopefully it will show that our generation is actually going to raise a group of kids that are more tolerant and open-minded and probably less prone to repeat the mistakes of the past,” he says. “At least that’s what I’m hoping. That’s my dream world, that the message will finally get through and punk rock (triumphs) and we’ll produce a generation of better kids. I hope people come away with that.”

Though on stage Lindberg is a fearless frontman, known for getting red-faced as he passionately belts out the lyrics to popular Pennywise tracks such as “F*** Authority,” at home, he’s certainly more tame – and tries to be less of a potty mouth. He says he always wanted lots of children, but never anticipated ending up with three daughters – he really thought there’d be more baseball involved.

“As a parent, you kind of play the hand you’re dealt every single day,” he says. “There’s constantly stuff coming at you that’s unexpected, but it’s been great. I love having girls, we have a lot of fun together and it probably balances out my gross guy side, having some females in the house.”

Lindberg takes his daughters to soccer practice, dance recitals and is proud that each of his girls is into listening to and performing music. His two oldest daughters – now 14 and 12 – have outgrown their Justin Bieber phase and have moved on to artists such as rapper Nicki Minaj and indie band Best Coast. His youngest, who is eight, he says, will listen to just about anything. Though he’s happy that none of his daughters currently have Bieber fever, Lindberg says he has a new found respect for the tween-pop genre.

“When bands like ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys first came out and kind of took over the music scene on TRL (MTV’s “Total Request Live”), that’s right when our band was reaching the height of our popularity,” he says. “I was (angry) and I would always talk really bad about those bands and say they were fake and we just bagged on them. That was our job. But now, in hindsight, I realize what the deal is with that – young kids like it, so it has a purpose. Not everyone should have to listen to Minor Threat and it’s probably better that they don’t. I think Minor Threat and Black Flag are for guys who really have to release that aggression somewhere, so I’m happy that there’s as Justin Bieber out there as well as a Keith Morris (Black Flag and the Circle Jerks). They both serve a purpose.”

As for wanting his kids to follow in his footsteps, Lindberg says he’d like them to follow in “some” of those footsteps, but certainly not all of them.

“It’s been a strange trip, the experience of punk rock in Southern California,” he says. “I think a lot of people got into punk rock because they came from desperate situations or they came from dysfunctional families, which you’ll see a lot of in the film and it’s heart-breaking to see these stories, but the majority of people that got into it were just like me, middle class kids who were rebellious adolescents who just wanted to get into trouble. That’s why I got into punk music, because it sounded like trouble on a cassette tape.”

“I hope my kids look for different things when it comes to music. I hope they do it just because they love playing music. For me, being a young surfer/skater in the South Bay of Los Angeles, it was just all about getting into dangerous situations, but now it’s the exact opposite for me. I really just love playing music and being involved with it.”

Nevins and Lindberg, along with producer Cristan Reilly and Everclear’s Art Alexakis will appear at the screenings at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4-5 and at 5 p.m. Nov. 6. Additional guests on Friday include: Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion), Tony Adolescent (the Adolescents), Jack Grisham (TSOL) and Rick Thorne (pro BMX rider). Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) will make a special appearance at the Saturday showing.

Kelli Skye Fadroski lives for entertainment. She’s worked at The Orange County Register since 2006 and has covered all things music, stand-up comedy, horror and more. When she’s not out reviewing a concert or interviewing some random famous person, she’s catching up on episodes of “The Walking Dead,” somewhere sampling craft beer, enjoying Taco Tuesday or yelling at the contestants through the TV on “Celebrity Name Game” for not knowing basic pop culture trivia. She’s also a diehard Detroit Lions fan.

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